The indefatigable Cathy Goodwin, PhD of Cat’s Chats, has spoken.
You should prepare yourself for the writing process before you call in a writer to help you talk about your product or service. Fortunately, you don’t need to wait until everything is fully realized and perfect.
Ms. Goodwin makes three key recommendations:
- Figure out what you’re selling – You can refine this as you go along, perhaps adding features or bringing benefits into sharper relief.
- Make sure your product really delivers what you say it will – Seems self-evident, eh?
- Know your market – Duh
I can hear some of you out there chuckling, because this all sounds pretty obvious. I mean, who wouldn’t know what they’re selling before they begin the launch process?
On the other hand, maybe not. A failure to think things through is not confined to small businesses, where an inexperienced entrepreneur may need to polish up her marketing savvy. I was recently involved in a writing project where several contractors each spent several hours creating a marketing document before someone at the client (a large and well-known Silicon Valley company) pulled the plug. The reason? Someone took a few minutes to figure out what they were selling and concluded that it already existed and that current marketing collateral would, with a few minor tweaks, work fine.
Back to the old drawing board.
Leave a Comment